HAWK TALK

August 30, 2012

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Parker aims to get Iowa back to years like 2009, when the Hawkeyes were 10th in the nation in total defense (276.54 yards a game), or 2008 when they were fiſth in scoring defense (13 points a game). He will do it by stressing aggressiveness, intensity and passion. "Football is for tough-minded people," Parker said. "You need to be physically tough, but the biggest thing is being mentally tough; being able to handle the pressure and situations when you have to make a quick decision and battle through it. "I'm an aggressive guy and the intensity will be there. I want these guys to have a passion to be great. If they have a passion to be good football players, then we're going to have a good team." While Davis and Parker demand most of the preseason attention as coordinators, there are several other twists and turns within the coaching staff. In fact, running backs coach Lester Erb and wide receivers coach Erik Campbell are the only two UI assistant coaches who had the same responsibilities before last season's opener against Tennessee Tech. Reese Morgan moved from offensive line to defensive line, Darrell Wilson moved from linebackers to defensive backs, LeVar Woods was hired as linebackers coach and Brian Ferentz was hired as offensive line coach. Woods was a team captain for the Hawkeyes in 2000, Ferentz was a team captain in 2005. "Hiring a former Iowa player was not a requisite or on my list as something we had to do, but I'm glad we had a chance to do it," Ferentz said. "Both guys had distinguished careers at our place and both were leaders in our program. The whole idea is for us to grow, move forward and get some new ideas and maybe look at things differently than we had in the past 13 years." The result is a blend of veterans and newcomers on the 2012 Hawkeye coaching staff. New ideas are being shared, making for an energizing and invigorating preseason camp. 25 University of Iowa linebackers coach LeVar Woods was team captain for the Hawkeyes in 2000.

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